Combination padlock



July 7, 1970 J. L. ORR 3,518,852

GOMBINAT ION PADLOCK Filed Dec. 4, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 7, 1970 J.L. ORR 3,518,852

COMBINATION 'PADLOCK Filed Dec. 4, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 7, 1970 J.L. ORR

COMBINATION PADLOGK 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 4, 1967 United StatesPatent Oflice 3,518,852 Patented July 7, 1970 US. Cl. 70-25 8 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combination padlock having a rotating dialand a fixed dial on a lock body of the Vernier principle with an oddnumber of characters on one dial part and an even number of characterson the other part. A reciprocable and rotatable shackle is mounted inthe lock body, and a bolt for locking the shackle is pivoted at aprecise point to allow for locking of the shackle on both sides thereof.The combination lock utilizes a bottom combination disk, a middle diskand a top disk that is clinched onto and rotatable with the rotatingdial and can be secured to the dial in any one of multiple positions tovary the combination of the lock. Also the bottom and middle disks havevariably located embossments to vary the dial set tings. A combinationdisk disperser is mounted on the lower end of the bolt and has an endthat is cammed into notches in the lower two combination disks when theshackle is withdrawn and, when the shackle is inserted, the bolt ispivoted to move a fence out of the gate in the disks and the dispersingmember spins the two lower disks to upset the disk arrangement.

The present invention relates to a combination padlock and moreparticularly to a combination shackle lock which is designed to fit thehand for ease of operation and has a double locking arrangement for thelock shackle.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of acombination padlock having a Vernier-type dial arrangement utilizing afixed dial and a rotating dial. One dial has an odd number or quantityof equally spaced characters thereon, and the other dial has an evennumber or quantity of characters thereon so that when a character on therotating dial is aligned with a character on the fixed dial, none of theother characters on either dial are aligned. The characters can beeither letters or numbers or a combination of the two. The lock isshaped to fit the hand and the rotating dial has no central protrudinggrip but is low in profile to facilitate actuation of the dial by thethumb of either hand while holding the lock in that hand.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of acombination padlock having a reciprocable and rotatable lock shacklecooperating with a lock bolt pivotally mounted in the lock casing. Thelock shackle has a short leg provided with a hook cooperating with ahook on one end of the bolt and a long end having a wedgetype notchreceiving a wedge-shaped portion formed on and adjacent the opposite endof the bolt. The bolt is mounted on a post in the lock casingintermediate the ends thereof to pivot at this precise point and thusallow locking of the shackle on both sides.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of acombination padlock having a combination dis'k dispenser secured to thelower end of the pivotal bolt. The lock includes a top disk secured tothe rotating dial and two additional disks therebelow. The two lowermostdisks have a notch therein which receives the free end of a dispersingarm, secured at its opposite end to the pivotal bolt, when the bolt ispivoted as the shackle is withdrawn. When the shackle is inserted intothe lock body, the bolt is pivoted in the opposite direction and the endof the dispersing arm spins the two lower disks, thereby upsetting thedisk arrangement.

The present invention also comprehends the provision of a combinationpadlock having a pivotal lock bolt with an integral fence to be insertedinto aligned gate notches in the combination disks when the propercombination has been dialed and the shackle withdrawn. Then fence mustbe withdrawn from the gate formed by the aligned gate notches prior tooperation of the disk disperser. The disks are always free to turn whenthe shackle is in its normal position because there is clearance betweenthe fence and the disks which is maintained by the shape of thedisperser; the disperser holding the fence on the bolt away from theperiphery of the disks.

The present invention further comprehends the provision of a combinationpadlock which is diflicult to open by an unauthorized person without thecombination. Where the gate notches on the combination disks are notaligned with the fence on the bolt and the shackle is pulled, the slightmovement on the shackles book will cause the hook of the bolt to pivotwhich will carry the fence of the bolt into the circumference of thedisks. The top disk secured to the rotating dial has shallow notches onthe periphery thereof of the same width as the gate notch, andtherefore, the gate notch cannot be related to the dial throughdistinguishing by feel to learn of the dialing requirements, thusproviding security to the locks combination.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity,efliciency, economy and ease of assembly and operation, and such furtherobjects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear andare inherently possessed thereby.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the combination padlock of thepresent invention showing the verniertype dial.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view thereof.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view of the combinationpadlock taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view similar to FIG. 4but with the parts shown in their positions with the shackle withdrawn.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view taken on the line6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged rear elevational view of the lock casing with therear plate and the interior parts and rotating dial removed.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged exploded or disassembled perspective view of therear plate of the lock casing, the disk lift spring, the bottom disk andspacer, and the middle disk and spacer.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front elevational view of the middle combinationdisk.

FIG. 10 is an edge elevational view of the disk of FIG. 9

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of therotating dial with its letter characters posi tioned over the fixed dialwith its numerical characters.

FIG. 12 is an edge elevational view of the rotating dial of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a rear elevational view of the rotating dial but on a smallerscale than FIGS. 11 and 12.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged front elevational view of the top combinationdisk.

FIG. 15 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 15-15 ofFIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the longer leg of the lockshackle.

FIG. 17 is a horizontal cross sectional view on the line 1717 of FIG.16.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged front elevational view of the lock bolt and fenceand the combination disk disperser.

FIG. 19 is a side elevational view of the bolt and dispenser of FIG. 18taken from the right-hand side.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings wherein isshown an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 1 to 3disclose a combination padlock having a lock housing or casing 11 with afront wall 12 and a side wall 13; the lock housing being open at therear thereof and a back plate 14 is clinched onto the housing 11 toenclose the lock 10. The lock includes a reciprocable U-shaped shackle15 having a short leg 16 with a hook 17 adjacent the end and a long leg18.

Adjacent the end 19 of the leg 18 is a wedge-shaped or substantiallyV-shaped notch 21 normally facing the interior of the lock body, andspaced above the upper end of the notch 21 is an annular groove 22receiving a shackle pin 23 (FIGS. 4, 5, 16 and 17) which is mounted in asolid portion 24 of the housing 11 having a cylindrical passage 25receiving the leg 18. Above the annular groove 22 the leg 18 is providedwith a flattened surface 26 terminating at its upper end in a transverseshoulder 27. This flattened surface 26 cooperates with the shackle pin23 (FIGS. 16 and 17) to allow limited reciprocable movement of theshackle 15 relative to the lock housing 11. The housing also has anopening 28 to receive the short leg 16 of the shackle 15.

The front wall 12 of the lock housing 11 includes an integral fixed dial29 thereon having a central opening 31 (FIG. 7) therethrough into thehousing and shown with an odd number of numerals 32 (several numerals inFIG. 11) circumferentially spaced thereon. Over the fixed dial 29, andconcentric therewith, is a complementary rotating dial 33 having acircular body 34 with an even number of characters 35 thereon (shown assix letters), and an even number of circumferentially equally spacedwindow notches 36 formed in the periphery of the dial 33 and alignedwith the letters 35 on the rotary dial 33. Rotating the dial 33, thewindow notches 36 of the dial reveal one of the charatcers on the fixeddial. The rotary dial 33 is formed with depressions 37 on the facethereof intermediate the window notches 36 for ease of manual dialing,and on the rear surface 38, a fluted circular central projection 39 isprovided with a central projecting annular hollow stem 41; theprojection 39 and the hollow stem 41 extending through the opening 31 inthe fixed dial 29 and a top combination disk 46.

The rear face 42 of the front wall 12 of the housing 1 1 includes arearwardly extending pivot pin 43 offset from the opening 31, and aroundthe opening 31 are etched or engraved a series of positioning grooves 44having numerals associated therewith to indicate the top combinationdisk number choice which is determined by a lug on the disk, and astippled locator portion 45 provides a gate check indicator (FIG. 7). Atop combination disk 46 (FIGS. 14 and 15) has a central opening 47therethrough receiving the hollow stem 41 with the stem being clinchedonto the top disk, and a grooved or serrated recess 48 around theopening 47 is complementary to and receives the grooved or serratedprojection 39 of the rotating dial 33 so that the dial 33 and top disk46 rotate together. The serrated arrangement of the projection 39 andthe recess 48 allow for a plurality of positions of the disk 46 relativeto the dial 33. each providing a dilferent combination setting for thisdisk.

As seen in FIG. 15, the opening 47 in the disk 46 is enlarged or steppedat 49 to allow for the clinching operation of the hollow stem 41 ontothe disk. The front face of the top disk 46 is provided with an annularflange 51 defining the internal serrated recess 48 with the periphery ofthe flange 51 conformably received in the opening 31 in the housing 11(FIG. 6). The periphery 52 of the disk 46 is provided with a pluralityof circumferentially spaced shallow notches 53 (FIG. 14) and a singlegate notch 54; the shallow notches 53 being of the same width as thegate 54 for a purpose to be later described. The rear face of the diskis provided with a rearwardly projecting embossment or lug 55 adjacentthe periphery of the disk.

The interior ofthe back plate 14 (FIGS. 6 and 8) of the padlock 10includes an annular embossment forming a pivot pin support 56 having acentral circular recess 57 receiving the inner end of the rearwardlyextending pivot pin 43; the support 56 including a lateral guide 58 fora bolt to be later described. Aligned with the hollow stem 41 of therotating dial 33 is a post 59 having a longitudinally extending slot 61therein, and an annular embossment 62 is spaced from and surrounds thepost 59. The embossment 62 is interrupted by a dialed disk gate checkindicator (behind the post in FIG. 8) similar to and aligned with thestippled indicator 45 formed on the rear face 42 of the casing 11 (FIG.7). A disk lift spring 63 is positioned on the post 59 with one endseated within the embossment 62 and the opposite end abutting a bottomcombination disk 64.

The bottom disk 64 has a central opening 65 accommodating the post 59, agate notch 66 and a disperser notch 67 formed on the periphery of thedisk and spaced apart by an angle of approximately 90. The bottom diskalso has an embossment or pin 68 on the forward face of the disk andshown as positioned between the notches 66 and 67. Although theembossment 68 is shown between the notches, it can be formed on the diskat numerous other positions to provide for various combination dialsettings for the first number of the combination.

A middle disk 69 is separated from the bottom disk 64 by a circularspacer 71 having a central opening 72 with an inward extending tongue orprojection 73. The central opening 72 receives the post 59 with thetongue or projection 73 entering the slot 61 in the post to preventrotation of the spacer. Thus, motion is not transferred from disk todisk by friction but only by the embossments or pins on the disks. Themiddle disk 69 has a central opening 74, a gate notch 75 and a dispersernotch 76, a rearwardly extending embossment or pin 77 and a forwardlyextending embossment or pin 78. The positioning of both of these pins 77and 78 will determine the dial setting for the second number of thecombination. A second spacer 71 is positioned on the post 59 between thetop disk 46 and the middle disk 69, and the post 59 enters the hollowstem 41 of the rotating dial 33.

The embossment or pin 55 on the top disk 46, the pins 77 and 78 on themiddle disk 69 and the pin 68 on the bottom disk 64 are all positionedoutside of the periphery of the spacers 71, 71 so that these variouspins can cooperate together and rotation of the dial 33 will, undercertain conditions, rotate the middle disk 69 and bottom disk 64 as wellas the top disk 46.

A pivotal lock bolt 79 (FIG. 18) has an opening 81 intermediate the endsthereof to receive the bolt pivot pin 43 and includes an upper end 82having a hook 83 cooperating with the book 17 on the short leg 16 of theshackle 15, and the opposite end 84 is offset from the end 82 and has adepending undercut projection 85. Adjacent the end 84 on the outer edgeof the bolt is a wedgeshaped portion 86 which is conformably received inthe wedge-shaped notch 21 in the leg 18 of the shackle 15, and alaterally extending fence 87 integral with the bolt is formed on andprojects inwardly from the inner edge 88 of the bolt adjacent the end84. The fence 87 is generally opposite the wedge portion 86 on the outeredge thereof.

Secured to the end 84 of the bolt 79 is a combination disk disperser 89formed of flat spring steel having a fiat portion 91 with an openingtherein receiving the undercut projection to secure the disperser to thebolt, 21

downwardly bent portion 92 and an upwardly and inwardly bent portion 93terminating in a generally inwardly exteding end 94. As see in FIG. 4,when the shackle 15 is in its locked position, the bolt 79 is pivotedclockwise by the contact of disperser 89 on the camming surface 95 ofthe housing thereby fixing the clearance between the periphery 52 of thetop disk 46 and the fence 87. The end 94 of the disperser 89 is shapedso clearance will be maintained with the periphery of the bottom disk 64and the middle disk 69.

When the disks 46, 69 and 64 all have their gate notches 54, 75 and 66,respectively, aligned with the fence 87 and the shackle 15 is withdrawn(FIG. 5), the bolt 79 is pivoted counterclockwise with the fence 87moving into the notches 54, 75 and 66 and the bent portion 93 of thedisperser 89 abutting a shoulder 96 formed on the cam surface 95 in theside wall 13 so that the end 94 is bent and projects into the aligneddisperser notches 67 and 76 of the bottom disk 64 and middle disk 69,respectively. Then when the shackle 15 is inserted in the padlockhousing 11, the bolt 79 is pivoted clockwise and, once the fence 87 isremoved from the gate notches, the end 94 of the disperser 89 indisengaging the notches 67 and 76, spins the lower two disks to upsetthe disk arrangement at the prescribed combination setting.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 11, the rotating dial 33 has siX letters (Athrough F) thereon while the fixed dial 29 has seven numerals (1 through7) thereon. Thus a combination setting for a combination disk would bethe combination of a letter and a numeral, i.e. D-7. Further, thecombination to open the padlock 10 would have three letter-numeralcombinations, such as E2, F2, A1.

Considering the operation of the padlock with the shackle in its normallocked position as seen in FIGS. 1 to 4, the user manually rotates therotating dial 33 at least two complete turns in a clockwise direction asseen in FIG. 1, so that the pin 55 on the top disk will contact the pin78 on the middle disk 69, thus picking up and rotating this disk, androtation of this disk will cause the other pin 77 on the middle disk 69to abut the pin 68 on the bottom disk 64 and thus pick up and rotatethis disk. When the first combination setting for the bottom disk 64 isreached with the gate notch 66 aligned with the location portion 45,then the dial is rotated in a counterclockwise direction for onecomplete turn so that the pin 55 picks up pine 78 on the middle disk inthe opposite direction and rotates the two disks to the secondcombination setting where the gate notch 75 will be aligned with notch66 and with locator portion 45. Then the dial 33 is again rotated in theclockwise direction to leave the second disk 69 and is positioned at thethird combination setting where the gate notch 54 in the top disk 46will be aligned with notches 75 and 66 and with the path of travel ofthe fence 87.

If the shackle is pulled away from the lock housing 11, the force on thehook 17 of the shackle 15 is transferred to the hook 83 of the bolt 79and the bolt is pivoted counterclockwise around the pivot pin 43.Simultaneously with the bolt 79 leaving the hook 17 of the shackle 15 onthe short leg 16, the wedge portion 86 of the bolt leaves thewedge-shaped notch 21 in the long leg 18. The shackle pin 23 cooperatingwith the fiattened surface 26 allows reciprocation of the shackle 15 tothe position shown in FIG. 5 where the annular groove 22 cooperatingwith the pin 23 allows rotation of the shackle 15 around the axis of thelong leg 17.

Simultaneous with the action of the shackle 15 and the bolt 79, thedisperser 89 goes into action. As the disperser 89 is secured to thelower end 84 of the bolt 79, when the bolt is driven into its pivotingaction with the fence 87 entering the gate notches 54, 75, 66 of thecombination disks, the end 94 of the disperser 89 contacts thecircumference of the two lower disks 64, 69 and this end is guided intothe dispersing notches 67 and 76 of these two disks by the fixedshoulder 96 of cam on the housing 11 abutting the bent portion 93 of thedisperser.

Now with the shackle 15 withdrawn, the bolt 79 has pivoted to theunlocked position and the disperser end 94 is in the dispersing notches67, 76. Also, the end 19 of the shackle leg 18 contacts the outer edgeof the bolt 79 adjacent the wedge portion 86 to prevent the bolt frompivoting to its locked position while the shackle is in the unlockedposition.

When the padlock 10 is to be locked, the shackle 15 is pivoted so thatthe short leg 16 is aligned with the opening 28 and the shackle 15 isinserted into the housing 11. The hook 17 on the leg 16 will act on themating fit of the hook 83 on the bolt 79 to initiate the pivoting actionof the bolt; the wedge portion 86 of the bolt pivoting into the wedgenotch 21 of the leg 18 of the shackle simultaneously with the engagementof the hooks 17 and 83. Also, the fence 87 will be moved out of thenotches forming the gate. The disperser end 94 remains in the notches67, 76 and the disperser 89 flexes against the disks 64, 69 tending toturn them and, at the instant that the fence is out of the gate, theflexing action is spent by spinning the two lower disks 64 and 69,thereby upsetting the disk arrangement. The bolt 79 has then returned toits locked position (FIG. 4) and is held there by the disperser 89acting against the wall 13 of the housing 11.

The disks 54, 69 and 64 are always free to turn when the shackle 15 isin its normal locked position because of the inner curved edge 88 of thebolt and the clearance between the fence 87 and the disks. Thisclearance is maintained by the shape of the disperser 89 which holds thefence on the bolt away from the periphery of the disks. Also when thegate for the fence 87 has not been made by dialing the propercombination, and if the shackle 15 is pulled, the slight movement on theshackles hook 17 will cause the hook 83 of the bolt 79 to pivot and thismovement will carry the fence 87 into the circumference of the disks.Since the top disk 54, which is integral with the rotating dial 33, hasnotches 53 of the same width as the gate notches, the gate notch 54cannot be related to the dial thereby giving security to the lockscombination as the gate notches cannot be detected.

Having thus disclosed my invention, I claim:

1. A combination padlock assembly comprising a lock housing, shacklelocking components including a shackle having a short leg with a hookadjacent the end thereof and a long leg with a wedge-shaped notchadjacent the end therof, and a pivotally mounted lock bolt having a hookat one end engageable with said hook on the short leg of the shackle anda wedge portion adjacent the opposite end engageable with thewedge-shaped notch in the long leg of the shackle, a plurality ofrotatable combination disks including a top disk, a middle disk, and abottom disk, each having a gate notch, a fence on said bolt receivablein said gate notches when properly aligned, a disperser secured to saidopposite end of said lock bolt, said disperser having an upwardly andinwardly bent free end, and said middle and bottom disks each having adisperser notch spaced from said gate notch and adapted to receive thefree end of said disperser.

2. A combination padlock assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which saidlock housing includes a cam surface engageable with said disperser whenthe lock bolt is pivoted to unlocked position to cam the end of thedisperser into said disperser notches.

3. A combination padlock assembly as set forth in claim 2, in which whenthe shackle is re-inserted in the lock housing to pivot said lock boltto its locked position, said disperser flexes against the disks untilthe fence is removed from the gate notches to release the disks and theforce in said disperser spins the lower disks to upset the combinationsetting.

4. A combination padlock assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which saiddisperser acting on said lock bolt 7 when in locked position maintainsclearance between said fence and said combination disks to provide freerotation of said rotating dial and said combination disks.

5. A combination padlock assembly comprising a lock housing, shacklelocking components including a shackle having a short leg with a hookadjacent the end thereof and a long leg with a wedge-shaped notchadjacent the end thereof, and a pivotally mounted lock bolt having ahook at one end engageable with said hook on the short leg of theshackle and a wedge portion adjacent the opposite end engageable withthe wedge-shaped notch in the long leg of the shackle, a plurality ofrotatable combination disks each having a gate notch, a fence on saidbolt receivable in said gate notches when properly aligned, a fixed dialformed on the face of the lock housing and provided with a plurality ofequally spaced characters thereon, and a rotating dial concentricallymounted on said fixed dial and provided with a plurality of equallyspaced characters thereon, the quantity of characters being even innumber on one dial and odd on the other dial, said fixed and rotatingdials forming a Vernier-type scale for the combination settings of thelock, said rotating dial having a plurality of equallyspaced windows atthe periphery thereof and radially aligned with the characters thereon,said windows revealing the characters on the fixed dial therebelow.

6. A combination padlock assembly as set forth in claim 5, in which saiddisks include a top disk, a middle disk, and a bottom disk, and saidrotating dial is connected to said top disk by a serrated connection toallow for positioning the rotating dial relative to said top disk tosuit a desired dial requirement and fix it as positioned.

7. A combination padlock assembly as set forth in claim 5, in which atleast one of said combination disks has a plurality of equally spacedshallow notches formed in the periphery of the disk and of a width equalto the width of its gate notch.

8. A combination padlock assembly as set forth in claim 5, in which saidlock bolt is a unitar membe. pivoted intermediate its ends, and' saidshackle when released pivots said lock bolt so that the end of the longleg of the shackle engages said wedge portion of the pivoted lock boltto maintain the lock bolt in unlocked position and against accidental aswell as intentional lockout.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,133,528 10/1938 Bell 252,441,895 5/ 1948 Miller 70-25 X 3,413,828 12/1968 Harrell 70--3 14 X843,365 2/1907 Raymond 70--330 1,369,850 3/1921 Steen 70-25 1,500,491 7/1924 Cronell 70--25 2,085,917 7/1937 Mathes 70-25 2,113,864 4/1938 Soret70-314 X 3,349,584 10/1967 Russell 7021 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, PrimaryExaminer -E. I. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 70-314, 332

